SAN JOSE, Calif. – When fans watch a fighter compete, they are watching the cash out.

Rarely do they get to see the long-term investment – the setbacks and gains – in the gym leading to the center-cage glory.

That’s what the California-based American Kickboxing Academy hopes comes across in its new reality show, “Fight Factory,” which premieres with a two-hour special tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on nuvoTV.

“The most enjoyable part for me is working out every day,” former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “The hardest part is you’re just breaking down your body. Injuries, that’s probably the worst part of it. But it’s a price we pay to do what we do.”

UFC veteran Jon Fitch packed up his bulldog, Bricks, and all his belongings in a car nearly a decade ago to trek from Indiana to San Jose to join AKA. He’s endured his share of injuries in that time, including his most recent, a partially torn ACL. The knee is healthy now, but it doesn’t look the same. The permanent disfiguration is a physical reminder why he returns to the gym daily. As a captain, his responsibility to his team is as permanent as his injuries. Fighting is often an all-or-nothing endeavor – only mitigated by the fellow fighters and coaches who pick up fallen teammates.

“Unity comes from hard work; it’s not just something that happens,” the former UFC welterweight title challenger said. “We don’t just barbeque, go to weddings and tell funny stories. That’s not what builds unity. What builds unity is hardships, trials, tribulations, things that don’t go your way then people rally around you and support you and push you forward.”

Much of the show’s early promotion and intrigue surrounds the departure of controversial “The Ultimate Fighter 1″ alumnus Josh Koscheck. “Kos” was one of the select few on the UFC’s Trojan horse reality show and thus became one of the prime names attached to AKA when the mainstream began paying attention to MMA. The recent high-profile split between Koscheck and AKA will be detailed on the show. For better or worse, though, AKA head trainer Javier Mendez is pleased that his facility and fighters can further their exposure, and by extension, the sport.

Mendez never foresaw the internal squabble between Koscheck and the gym – or any other major issue for that matter – becoming a reality-TV storyline.

“Unfortunately, that is the part; when you’re on a reality show, you’re an open book,” said the AKA founder, noting that former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson warned him of the potential for in-house happenings becoming public fodder. “[Koscheck] was drama anyways. Whether he was still a happy member or not, we were going to have drama with him. That’s just the way it’s always been with him. I don’t think anything changed other than he’s not with us anymore.”

Fitch visits Koscheck on “Fight Factory” to address the situation. He reflects by that point it was too late. AKA’s daily team meetings supposedly ensure everything runs smoothly. Still, there was a communication breakdown between AKA and Koscheck somewhere down the line. Fitch points out AKA took away a valuable lesson: The communication must stay clear and consistent.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re doing in life; it never does anybody a service if you’re unhappy with the situation and you don’t tell the person you’re with you’re unhappy,” he said. “If you take that burden without saying anything, I think you’re as responsible as the person who might have wronged.”

Despite the split, AKA remains a tight-knit fight unit according to the players still in San Jose. Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Leandro Vieira has been with the team less than a year yet feels welcome even as he adjusts to the constant camera time. He’s learning like everyone else, though he’s tagged to teach. It’s an unselfish place insists Fitch. AKA is a lead-by-example process. Everyone has good information to share. Therefore everyone has a voice regardless of records or titles. AKA’s lesser-known fighters attest to the weight of carrying the name and battling to walk the same paths as Fitch, Thomson and Velasquez (to name a few).

“It’s a lot of pressure,” said one-fight MMA veteran Gabe Carrasco, who competes this Saturday at Dragon House 11 in Oakland. “You have to work just as hard as everybody else. I do work as hard, but the work keeps going up, and the level of intensity and knowledge keeps going up. You have to keep up with it.”

Just because a fighter isn’t in the UFC doesn’t mean he hasn’t put in his share of hard work. That’s a takeaway welterweight Wayne Phillips wants for viewers.

“(I want) to get a little bit of this exposure to show people who I am and what I go through,” he said. “It’ll help me build up my fan base. It’s true even for a 12-year, 29-fight veteran like Phil Baroni.”

“That’s the thing; usually I put my fight personality out there,” said Baroni, a UFC and PRIDE veteran. “This is more behind the scenes. They show my wife, my house, my dog. They know the ‘Bad Ass,’ but they don’t really know Phil Baroni. (With) a lot of guys on the team, it showed a little bit more. I’ve been part of lot of pre-fight shows where they are looking to promote a specific fight. UFC does a great job of that, but you don’t really see behind the scenes.”

Velasquez affirms every fighter at every stage in his career has a dream, and everyone is responsible to each other to achieve it. That process is a reason to tune in. Another, he reminds, is it’s the only place fans can watch Velasquez tangle with Strikeforce heavyweight grand-prix champion Daniel Cormier. Even without a scheduled fight, it’s a fighter’s responsibility to be in the “Fight Factory.”

Training is everything – their raison d’etre – reiterates Fitch.

“We’re not just going to let you come and hang out,” said the 10-year veteran. “It’s not a bicycle club.”